Announcements

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UUCOV Information Network

The UUCOV Information Network is sent out weekly via email with notices about activities for the week and other information about UUCOV. If you do not receive this notice and would like it, please forward your email address to uucov(at)verizon.net and it will be added to the mailing list.

The UUCOV Communication Committee

Now that we have an official Communications Committee, we’d like to ask, at least for the time being, that all requests for placing items in the InfoNet, Connection, our website and public media be submitted through Bill Monigle at pr.uucov(at)verizon.net. This applies to all UUCOV-related information intended for distribution to both the congregation and the community. For Connection please send your articles, etc. directly to Fred Kreutzer, <kreutzer(at)earthlink.net> but also send a copy to Bill Monigle.

This will give the committee a chance to see what our communications needs are and how they can best be met. So, if you have anything you’d like published in the InfoNet, Connection, our website or the public media, please send it to pr.uucov(at)verizon.net. Bill and the committee will see that it gets published.

Bill Monigle, chair, Karen Griffin, Fred Kreutzer and Nan Kritzler

UUCOV Heritage Club

The Heritage Club acknowledges and honors those members who have decided to remember UUCOV in their final Wills or Testaments. We appreciate those who have done so already.

Please see Dale Povenmire for more information.

General Assembly Rocks!

From June 25 – 29, 12 members from UUCOV attended the 47th Annual General Assembly held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. All reported GA to be an exceptional experience that all UUs should have at least once!

Much information was exchanged in the relatively few days the UUCOV delegation was in Fort Lauderdale. If your impression is that GA offers the premier opportunity for UUA to “hand down” what we as a congregation should do, you couldn’t be farther from what we experienced! Most of what we learned came from listening to the experiences of other congregations, many of whom are encountering situations or problems similar to those we have in Venice. Over the next several months you will hear in detail some of what was learned. Click here for the highlights.

Give Us A Sign?

Our 10th Anniversary is fast approaching (November 2, 2008) and excitement is growing. One thing we lack is a permanent sign on our property that lists the time of our Sunday service, time of our Sunday School, with moveable type for the title of the service or special events or concerts. The City of Venice won’t let us add anything to the sign on the corner for safety reasons. People may be trying to read the text as they drive by increasing the danger of accidents. The only type of new sign allowed is a “monument sign” like the one the Montessori School has on Pinebrook. UUCOV could erect a similar sign on our property entrance, with fixed and moveable lettering which could attract people driving north or south.

The Membership Committee originally suggested the idea in November, 2007. The Long Range Planning Committee agreed and many people in the congregation highlighted the need for such a sign in their membership surveys. The Board also likes the idea, but—the hitch. The funds are not in the budget. With all the property and building needs this year, the sign just won’t make it.

Do we have an angel? Would you like to help spread the word about UUCOV and put us on the map with a permanent sign? The cost is $5800. Construction should start soon, if we hope to erect a sign by November 2nd. We are 10 years old and reaching out to the community in so many ways. Is there someone who wants to leave a permanent gift to UUCOV that will help us with our outreach? Can you give us a sign?

— Kindra Muntz

Bell Tower Update

One project that some people were hoping to have completed by UUCOV’s 10th anniversary this November will not come to pass: completing the bell tower. It would take a miracle.

Since 2003, the bell tower has been empty, because funds were not available, and a physical bell was determined to be a potential missile in a hurricane. After research by a group of UUCOV members, the concept was changed from a bell to a chalice sculpture. For the past year and a half, UUCOV member Jack Smith, engineer and sculptor, has been designing a chalice and support structure made of fabricated panels of stainless steel that will allow the wind to go through it and sustain 130 mph winds in a hurricane, and meet all requirements of the City of Venice. It is a beautiful design, with a stained glass flame that will be illuminated at night as the sun goes down, and be visible for all to see. It could be a magnificent addition to the top of our church building and be the beacon of hope and healing that exemplifies our liberal religion.

A contractor Jack knows in Delaware can build the structure at cost and deliver it here. Jack can build the flame. Our UUCOV builder, Gerry Barrett, can install the support structure in the base of the bell tower to hold the chalice. Everyone is ready to go, but can’t proceed for lack of funding. The Board loved the design, and noted that a few thousand dollars are available from memorial gifts for the bell tower, but the total cost of building and installing the chalice sculpture is over $26,000, which is way beyond UUCOV’s budget, and probably will not be available or prioritized for that purpose for years.

At General Assembly, I explored grant possibilities from various UU funding sources, but the bell tower doesn’t fit any traditional grant descriptions. I am still trying to think of ways of reaching out beyond our congregation to fund the project. Ideas are welcome. When Jack returns from summer vacation, perhaps we can display the drawings of his chalice sculpture for all to see.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice

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